12 Books of Christmas - day 2

So I'm following up! Here's book #2 - and it's probably good that I gave myself more than 12 days to do this so I can actually accomplish all 12...

Baby's Christmas - written and illustrated by Eloise Wilkin


This is a Little Golden Book from 1959. For some reason we had it when I was a little girl and I always remember it as one of my favorite books of all time, not just of the season. In fact, this was one of those books that I sought out on eBay while I was pregnant because I knew I wanted my baby to have this book in their library.

This book is very simply written, and illustrated. But like others by Eloise Wilkin (there were many), the illustrations are beautifully done, detailed and lifelike, while retaining the image of the era.

The book is about a baby coming down for Christmas to see what Santa left. It's very gender neutral - to this day I'm not sure if the baby is a boy or girl, however there's a stocking on the mantle in one image that says "John" so maybe it's a boy. Growing up I just assumed it was a girl because I lived in a house full of girls, and the baby gets a few pink toys. Ha.

I typically skip pages 2-3 because it doesn't "fit" the rest of the story in it's writing style. But the rest is written so the sentences flow very well.
The baby gets a little ball, a rocking horse, a music box, a train, and many MANY more toys. (Written like "Santa left a music box that plays a little tune. He left a string of wooden beads, pink and white and blue."). The one problem I have as an adult is that this baby gets a TON from Santa...which maybe doesn't teach the best expectations - but you immediately overlook that once you get in to the story.
The pages typically have one toy per page - some with the baby using them, some just on their own. The toys are all reminiscent of the era - simple, wooden, colorful. The kind of toys I preferred best for D at that age. I was always obsessed with the milk truck that the baby gets. I wished I had that toy through my entire youth. I still wish D could have had one.
At the end - baby gets a toy box as well - to put all the toys away in.

This book is better than I remembered it. It's adorable - and simple. D loved it as an infant...and still loves it as a very active toddler. I still love it as a 31 year old adult. It will always be one of my favorites. I leave it in our rotation year round - it does not get put away with the other Christmas books, needless to say ;)